Die Aufmerksamkeitsspanne Der Offentlichkeit

News media and their audience rapidly shift their attention between issues. However, complex social problems require more lasting public attention. How do news users handle the cues in coverage of various issues when choosing which issues to follow more closely, intensively, and lastingly? The current study analyzes opinion formation processes regarding three issues as case studies. Weekly panel interviews allow us - combined with content analysis data - to look at the mechanisms how citizens are guided by cues in the media landscape. The results indicate when issues attract lasting attention, how citizens react to the news situation and how this affects public opinion formation. A centerpiece in steering public attention is the - partially media-generated - impression that an issue receives widespread attention by other citizens. When this impression is created, the span of public attention is prolonged considerably.